Battery Powered

A content design that inspires learning and empowers collective giving.

Opportunity

To introduce members of The Battery to a new kind of philanthropy program—one where learning and community-building are prerequisites to giving.

Solution

We built on the well-established brand personality behind the elusive members’ club—cheeky, confident, and whip-smart—and onboarded club members to a sub-brand, Battery Powered, which would come to represent the heart and collective influence of its members. We designed the program’s content around thematic research, which was reworked for the website as solutions-oriented articles, videos, event recaps, and grantee profiles.

My role

UX writing, content strategy, copywriting for digital and print.

The team

Many! I was the sole copywriter for Battery Powered at launch, but we collaborated with the stellar creative team at The Battery and had several program strategists and philanthropic consultants working on research, theme development, organization vetting and selection, and so much more. This work was completed while on the creative team Amplifier Strategies, a social impact consultancy.

Process and results

We began with research. Collaborative giving programs were relatively new in the philanthropy space, so the discovery and internal alignment process took several months. After several rounds of researching, writing, and revising our program components in partnership with The Battery’s founders, we arrived at a sub-brand that would take the club’s image from elite and aloof to daring and change-making.

The program was rooted in deep research from the philanthropic consultants and quality proposals from the grantees. And, with clear and memorable issue-based messaging, the Battery Powered sub-brand helped to establish trust with its members. They committed funds upfront, participated in shared learning experiences and events, heard from potential grantees, and held quarterly meetings to allocate funds, together.

• I created program messaging and nomenclature, including welcome materials and website copy aligned with member-driven core values: "better together, generosity & commitment, and limitless possibilities."

• I collaborated with video production company Story Eyed Media on the Battery Powered Views mini-documentary series for members; I created the content outline for the script and provided narrative guidance for the video team at every stage of production.

• Along with project teams for each themed program, I wrote thematic content for the website, reported on successful giving themes and community events, and helped members celebrate the impact of their contributions. The program grew to more than 600 members and raised over $7 million for nonprofit organizations in the first year.

above: member welcome materials aligned with the battery’s signature voice, tone, and brand personality.

below: excerpts from giving themes, a brand and messaging strategy at work, content design to make the transition between high-end hospitality website and in-depth educational content nearly seamless.

A closer look at copy and strategy for Battery Powered

above: my goal with web copy and promotional materials was to use clear, compelling writing to demystify the philanthropic process.

Below: To make Battery Powered’s navigation blend in and stand out, we had to nest a microsite within a site; Intentional UX writing choices helped build trust and engagement along the way.